Kind of Darkness
by Twilight Antediluvian
Summary: The Winter War is finally over, but one villain is yet to be served justice. Sometimes, even pure evil has a heart. Ichimaru-centered, non-romantic.


_TO AVOID __SPOILERS_: Bleach Movie 2: "Diamond Dust" – I've mentioned the "King's Seal" here. It's a powerful artefact used in the movie. Not knowing exactly what it is won't change a thing for my story. Otherwise this one has the usual spoilers and then some (preferably anime season 6 and twenty-seven books from the manga if you completely wish to avoid spoilers).

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

_**Kind of Darkness**_

"Kurosaki!" Toushiro was more than a little distraught, which was usually a bad sign

"What's the rush, Toushiro?" It sounded easygoing, but Ichigo was simply putting on an effort to hide how tired he still was after the final Winter War battle.

"We've got a message from that rat, Ichimaru." Aizen, Tousen and most of the Arrancar had been exterminated, but somehow the annoying smiley-freak had gotten away. Matsumoto Rangiku hadn't been the same, since. Sure, to all the world she didn't look it, but to her friends she was obviously heartbroken… again.

"Right. Take me there." The two sped off.

"He specifically asked for you, so he'll probably taunt you in some way. Don't let him get to you." The whole thing was strange; but from what Ichigo had heard, so was Ichimaru Gin.

"Well, if he causes any trouble we've just gotta hunt him down, right?" While he was talking, another familiar presence joined them.

"That's easier said than done, Kurosaki. Gin has been a Shinigami for a hundred years and he was _born_ sneaky."

"Oh. Hi Rangiku-san." Well, what _did_ you say to someone when you'd just suggested that their best-friend-turned-traitor be hunted down?

"I'm just tagging along. I won't be let into the taichous' meeting, anyway." A-ha. So _that_ was the catch.

"Matsumoto. Go take care of your paperwork. I'll come to the office once this is over." Toushiro usually wanted to project such a tough guy demeanour, but his worry shone through sometimes.

"But…"

"Do it."

"Yes, taichou." She seemed pretty down, really. Oh well, they'd have to deal with the rogue ex-taichou first, in order to deal with Rangiku-san's deeper problems regarding him.

"So, do you know what he wants, Toushiro?" They hadn't slowed even when Rangiku left them and were rushing in through the doors as the white-haired young man shook his head.

In the middle of the hall where the taichou were meeting was a projected image, hanging in the air.

"_If it isn't_ _Kurosaki Ichigo. So glad ya made it._" Ichimaru Gin's image was grinning as usual.

"What do you want, you fox-faced bastard?"

"_What if I just wanna say hi?_" Silence reigned supreme while ten captains and a Substitute glared at the screen. Finally, Gin gave up with a sigh. "_Spoilsports. Ye're no fun at all. I was thinkin' now that Aizen-sama's gone an' all, ya really don't need to come runnin' after lil' old me…_"

"You're a traitor, Ichimaru," Hitsugaya stated coldly. "You made your choice when you joined Aizen in the first place."

"_Ah, Hitsugaya-kun, it's been a while. How's Ran-chan doing?_" The young taichou tensed at Gin's words.

"Don't let him get to you, Toushiro." Kurosaki repeated Hitsugaya's own words from earlier. The white-haired man obviously had trouble following that suggestion, but at least managed to stay completely still.

"_Really, I didn' come to chit-chat. Aizen-sama might've found it amusin' to hole up in Las Noches where y'all could corner him, but I ain't gonna make it that easy, so I'd prefer if we could jus' ceasefire._"

"We do not negotiate with traitors," the old sou-taichou said firmly, speaking all their minds.

"_That ain't so good,_" Ichimaru's grin almost looked sad for a moment. "_I had a feelin' you'd say that, but it's such a shame. I'd 'ave returned her and ya would'a never known. Now, if ya start gettin' too close, I might've ta hurt her, even._"

"Who?!" Nobody had been unaccounted for, Soul Society had been as peaceful as ever since the last day of the war… he couldn't have made it in to kidnap anyone. They had seen Rangiku-san just a moment ago, so it couldn't be her.

"_Say hello to sleepin' beauty here._" The view shifted slightly to reveal a form on the floor in the background. None of the gathered understood, until…

"KARIN!" Ichigo sounded desperate and absolutely furious and the rest of the gathered were stunned.

"_Screamin' like that ain't so smart or you're gonna wake 'er up. Ya never did look after yer loved ones very well, Ichigo, or so I've understood_." There was no question as to what he was referring to. So he wasn't even using a new trick, merely warping one of Aizen's. Didn't mean it was any less deadly, though.

"_Let her go_ you freak-faced piece of shit." Apparently, the big brother had gone past fury and into an icy chill that left even Hitsugaya mildly impressed. The form in the background moved a little.

"_What the… who are you?_" It nearly tore Hitsugaya's heart out to see Ichigo's agony as Ichimaru walked up to the girl. Her hands were bound behind her back as she scrambled to her knees.

"_Wave ta big brother, Kurosaki-chan_." Not a breath disturbed the voice emanating from the image as the girl's eyes shifted and widened.

"_Ichi-nii!_"

"_See, I'm sure this can be sorted soon enough, don't ya think?_" The silver-haired ex-taichou pulled her up and patted her cheek with that infernal smirk of his."_Lil' girl shouldn't be away too long, or bad stuff could happen._"

"_You ugly son of a bitch, get off me or I'll beat you so bad your _mom_ hurts!_" Karin decided to emphasize her words by kicking Ichimaru violently in the shins. The man actually twitched minutely, but then swept her feet out from under her, making her fall back down on her knees with a surprised yelp.

"_Yare, yare. You're feisty all right._"

"Well there's no doubt the girl's a Kurosaki," Shunsui said half-seriously as Karin kept trying to get up, a steady stream of curses and crude language streaming from the image, "so what did you have in mind, Ichimaru?"

"_It's simple, really, ain't it? All I need is a Substitute badge, wouldn't ya say?_"

"_Don't give smirk-face a thing, Ichi-nii, you hear me?! I'll get the little shit before you even figure out where we are, so don't worry!_" Pretty bold words for someone with a hand holding down their head so they couldn't even see.

"Don't be a fool Kurosaki," Hitsugaya reprimanded her before Ichigo recovered enough to speak. "And don't do anything stupid."

"…_Toushiro_?" As she looked up her mouth was hanging open in shock. She shouldn't have been surprised to see him there; she knew he was a taichou.

"_Friends with Shiro-chan, are we? Well, ain't it sweet with reunions._" He pushed her head down again, leading to more kicking and screaming. "_I'm gonna let y'all talk it over and call back in an hour. I dun' just want the badge of approval, mind you, I want the original, or the kid's in for a tough ride._" The image flickered out of existence like it had never been there. Once again, the room was silent.

"We can't let the traitor have the badge," the sou-taichou stated, making Ichigo go into overdrive.

"That's my _sister_, old man! She shouldn't even be pulled into all this and now you're saying you'll just let that _bastard_ do whatever he wants?"

"Calm down, Kurosaki-san," Ukitake said seriously, "we won't abandon her, but the sou-taichou is right. We _can't_ give him the original Substitute badge. That could throw all of Soul Society into chaos; and if he possesses it we would never have a chance of finding him. We must find another way."

"He won't accept no for an answer, though." Hitsugaya looked concerned. He seemed about to say something, but apparently he had to take a moment before he could, frown deeper than ever. "I think it might be a point to ask Matsumoto-fukutaichou what she thinks of this."

The words he had spoken left them all a bit crestfallen. All but Ichigo were old enough to remember how close the two friends had been and even he had heard stories. For her own taichou to suggest such a thing…

"As you wish, Hitsugaya-taichou. You may go and ask her to join us." The old coot was unreal sometimes. Ichigo watched completely unbelieving as the young man turned around. It even took him a moment to react.

"Don't any of you see how _wrong_ that is?! Isn't she in enough pain as it is or…"

"_Quiet, Kurosaki_." Hitsugaya's voice was cold and raw, his shoulders almost unnaturally set. "Matsumoto will do what needs to be done. She has a duty to Soul Society. Ichimaru cannot be allowed to play with the lives of innocents." With that, he left. The lives of innocents. Karin. He had failed.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"They're gonna try an' trick me," Ichimaru said slowly as he dragged a stumbling Karin along by the scruff of her neck.

"I hope they succeed." She had run out of innovative curses, so her best bet was to watch and wait for an option. The man grinned; it was creepy to watch the change in that ever-present smile.

"Now, that ain't nice of you. It'll be a lil' game of life-or-death an' I was plannin' on winning." Without another word he shoved her into a dark room.

"Hey, you, don't you dare run off!" Taking the last light with it, the door slid shut with a heavy thud. "Damn."

The darkness was almost suffocating; there wasn't even a speck of light for her eyes to focus on. There had to be _some_ way of getting out of the stupid bonds, at least. The rest… it would have to wait 'til later, wouldn't it? Without hands, there wasn't much she could do. Karin had done worse acrobatics in P.E. class; given a little time, she could pull her arms beneath her legs and get them up front instead of behind her back.

It took some stumbling, swearing, a few thuds against the walls and definitely some sweating, but in the end she managed to get those arms where she wanted them. Shit, that had been a stretch. It had, however, also been a step in the right direction. That comforted her for a moment, until something soft swept past her leg, making her stiffen in fear.

"Well, well, what are you? Here I was sure no one would come back, yet someone does… and they even bring tasty-smelling food." That was just too much. Karin gave up all pretence of bravery and screamed in the darkness, echoed only by a darkly amused laughter.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"_Well, finished yet?_" The image just appeared and obviously Ichimaru wasn't about to beat around the bush. "_Heuco Mundo's a dangerous place, I ain't sure if I can protect her on mah own._"

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Ichigo raged. "If you've split a _hair_ on her head, I swear I'll…"

"_Now don't be trouble. She's lucky, but the corridors in Las Noches ain't exactly safe anymore._" A resounding knock from the sou-taichou's staff silenced them.

"Enough! Fukutaichou." Rangiku stepped forward, causing a strange flash of emotion across Ichimaru's face at the sight. She tried to look unfazed, but there was tiredness that wouldn't go away in her eyes.

"_Ran-chan…_"

"Is there nothing else you would accept, Ichimaru?" Her cold question made the man shake his head.

"_Sure, the King's Seal or Hougyokou would be fine,_" he said ironically. "_I dun' wanna die, Ran-chan._"

"Don't be an idiot, Ichimaru. These aren't ours to give. Neither is the badge, really. Give us back Kurosaki-chan." The two looked at each other for a moment.

"Where is she, even?" Ichigo interrupted. "I want to see her."

"_She's right 'ere. It ain't a good idea to upset her right now though… she had a pretty nasty run-in with a hungry Hollow_." She wasn't quite as peachy as an hour earlier, her hands clutched to her chest and a haunted expression only half hidden behind her silent defiance.

"You friggin' _bastard_! I'm going to find you and not even the deepest hole in Heuco Mundo will save you, I'll personally rip your filthy…" A cold hand gripping his shoulder stopped Ichigo's rant.

"Don't waste your energy on it." Hitsugaya shifted his gaze to the ethereal image in the air. "We'll get you out." Karin huffed, obviously encouraged by their support.

"_I_ _told you already, don't worry about me. This punk won't hold me for long._" Hitsugaya smiled weakly at that.

"_Yare, yare…_" Ichimaru sighed and pushed her carefully to the side and leaned in so that all one could see was his grinning face. "_Ain't it a shame, I need that badge before she goes back anywhere. Ya won't find me unless I wanna be found. I'll give y'all a day to figure that out. I won't even leave Las Noches until tomorrow, how's that sound? We'd all be better off if you've made the right decision by then. Bye-bye_."

"Gin!" Rangiku lifted her hand just a few inches, as if she was resisting reaching out for the picture that blinked once and then was gone. Swallowing hard, she turned to the sou-taichou Yamamoto. "He _will_ probably be impossible to find, sou-taichou, but it couldn't hurt to search for him anyway. I would like to be part of…"

"Permission denied." The words were hard and decisive. "Your skills come best to use in devising a plan for the morning, in case the search parties should fail. Hitsugaya-taichou, you will be in charge of this part." The white-haired man nodded. "Kuchiki-taichou, take as many men as you feel is necessary and go to Las Noches. The search must begin immediately."

Everybody was a bit disheartened, but nobody allowed it to show. In the end, Zaraki-taichou decided to tag along with the search party, as well as the fukutaichou of both captains. The real trouble in the beginning was holding Ichigo back when he wanted to rush headfirst into Heuco Mundo. Having Renji around was sometimes the greatest of blessings.

Zaraki Kenpachi coming along had the upside of pulling along many of the stronger members out of Eleventh squad, who simply couldn't resist the challenge. And a challenge it would be, for sure.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Yer friends will be comin' ta save you. Dun' that feel great?" There wasn't any conviction in Ichimaru's voice. Some irony and some self-irony, but little else. "Stop fiddlin' with the bonds. Can't let ya run off an' get killed when yer my only hope."

"I'll fiddle with whatever I want," Karin mumbled, distracted by the shiny rope. It didn't seem to have any ends. Or a knot, for that matter.

"Ah'd rather not have to restrain ya with _more _kidou. Jus' cooperate and you'll be outta' here in no time."

"And what if they don't give you that badge you're after?" She lifted her gaze from the restraints and looked straight at him. The tiny slits that should've shown eyes were disconcerting, but so far she wasn't afraid of him.

"Then I'd probably have to kill ya," he admitted. "Can't have ya runnin' 'round telling my secret hiding place to all a' Seireitei."

"So you tell me to not try to escape, because obviously that'd work so well in my favour." She sighed and went back to studying the ropes.

"We're jus' too deep; yer friends ain't got a chance of finding us here. Or hearin' ya scream, if you try."

"I wouldn't worry about me _wailing_ as a top priority, if I were you," Karin mumbled distractedly while continuing to feel out the energy around her hands. "Even if I get back safely, Ichi-nii isn't exactly the most rational person out there. If he ever gets his hands on you, you'll probably wish you'd chosen a less touchy subject to kidnap." Ichimaru just raised one thin eyebrow enough that you could glimpse a red eye.

"I suppose it's harsh to be away from mummy," he said indifferently, "but I ain't the type needs ta be threatened." That got her to look up at him icily.

"My mom is _dead_ and it wasn't a threat. I was just stating facts." It took Karin a moment to remind herself that she had to be patient if she wanted to get out of here. Random violence had already proven useless.

Ichimaru seemed to accept her comment at face value, because he simply turned back to a monitor built into the wall. Okay, so she could probably break these bonds if he just left her alone for a moment. Content with that result she settled back discontentedly, glaring at his haori-clad back. It just reminded her of Toushiro, which made her _really_ grumpy.

"Why did you do it?"

"Pardon meh?"

"Why did you leave Soul Society and join whatever-his-name?" Out of all the questions she could've asked, that was obviously not on the list of what he had expected after all her hostility.

"Aizen-sama was mah taichou."

"Taichou… Toushiro's a taichou, isn't he?"

"Lil' Shiro-chan? Yeah, so he is."

"Tell me about that?" When Ichimaru looked at her with an unreadable gaze she shrugged a little. "It'll pass time and I'm curious. This whole 'Shiro-chan' business. I doubt he's too fond of that nickname?"

"Nah, he ain't too much fun, but I imagine sweet Ran-chan keeps 'im on his toes."

"Ran-… chan?" It rung a bell, somehow.

"Matsumoto Rangiku, The lil' stiff's fukutaichou. You might'a seen her earlier; pretty, strawberry blonde…"

"Yeah, I remember. I've met her once before, actually. So you guys are all old friends, eh?"

"Ya got a lot of questions, haven't you?" Karin just shrugged. She wasn't sure if she was trying to get anything specific out of this conversation or if she was just passing dead minutes.

They were both quiet for a while after that, Ichimaru's grin a little less convincing than earlier as he followed a swarm of little dots on a screen, occasionally clicking this or that. Two little dots were off in a corner, far from all the other ones.

"I'm goin' out. Dun' do anything stupid," he warned her. Karin just shrugged.

Maybe she shouldn't; that way he'd be more likely to not keep tabs on her later… then again, maybe there wouldn't _be_ a later, so as soon as he was out the door she started straining against the bonds. Nothing happened; they seemed almost elastic while still holding her as firmly as if they'd been made of steel.

"Come on, now… I can do it…" She mumbled under her breath to keep calm, trying to figure out a weak spot somehow. There just weren't any. She looked for a whole two minutes before her calm started to break. He could be back any moment. Getting more and more agitated, she pulled angrily at the restraints.. She wouldn't panic. She wouldn't panic. She wouldn't… _gaaah_!

Karin could feel the tears building up around the edges of her eyes. There was no _way_ she'd be a crybaby over something pointless like this. Fear and this new fuel for her anger gave her enough strength to force her hands a little further apart, shattering the bright light as if it had never been there at all. Panting heavily, she hurried up to the door and shoved it aside, rushing into the gray corridor outside.

It was such a chance. It could have been such a chance. It would have been so good to just manage to get away from this dank, grey place without needing to be _rescued_ like she was some prissy princess.

Of course, that all went overboard the moment she got out.

He was leaning against the wall, as calm and collected as anyone she'd ever seen, that stupid smirk still on his face.

There wasn't much to do except stop and be ready to rush at the appropriate moment. She was small enough to get past him, if she did this right. She was… he simply blurred, much too quick for her to follow, and then she felt a hand on her throat, lifting her and pushing her up against the wall.

"I take it ya weren't listenin' to me, lil' girl… thought I told ya not to do anythin' stupid." The bony fingers around her neck contracted, making it hard to speak, or even breathe.

"_Karin_," she managed to cough up.

"What's that?"

"The name's _Karin_, not 'little girl'…" Damn, it was hard to get air. "And I'm not hanging around…" The grip just tightened even further. She wasn't ready to die yet, she just wasn't.

"I'll break ya if that's what it takes, lil' girl."

Black light flickered in front of her eyes. She couldn't go out like this! The darkness creeping ever closer wasn't an option. It was as if she gathered all her life force, all her instinct and will to live into a single, forceful kick at his stomach.

The relief of his grip going away was almost as great as hearing him gasp in pain and surprise as he stumbled backwards. She fell to the ground, weak from the lack of oxygen. Unsteadily getting up, Karin stumbled down the corridor, leaning on the wall.

"Yare, yare." The voice was right behind her. Damn. Damn, damn, damn! "I had expected ya tryin' to run off, but ya've got a mean kick there." She tried struggling, but he just picked her up like a leaf and deposited her over one broad shoulder.

"Lemme go, you punk!"

"Nah. You'd only get yerself killed and _then_ where'd I be?" He closed the heavy door behind them and put her down. "Way of bindin' number one, 'sai'." Her arms whipped behind her back again, making her growl in frustration. "I dunno how ya got outta' that before, but I won't be far, so no more runnin'… lil' Karin."

With that, Ichimaru Gin slipped out through the door and the last thing she heard for a while was the clicking of the lock on the door.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Damn this, we've gotta find her! What if he lied and he's not even really here?" Ichigo had been touchy ever since first contact and getting to Heuco Mundo seemed to be kind of like salt in the wound.

"Ichi is grumpy," Yachiru-fukutaichou stated curiously, running around the corridors like they weren't crashing the only structure in this entire dimension. It was a miracle they'd been able to get a Garganta up so quick, but apparently Urahara was always rather well prepared.

"Gin's a rat," Zaraki agreed with Ichigo.

They had already been searching for hours and though they'd found several interesting places and killed off dozens of Hollows, there had been absolutely no sign of the rogue or Karin.

"Wish that four-eyes Ishida was here," Renji admitted. "We kinda need alternative strategies right now."

"You mean before Zaraki starts tearing down every building in sight? That's starting to sound like a rather good idea, to me…"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Come on, Karin," she urged herself, "you've done this once before. I can't let Ichi-nii and Toushiro and all the others worry about me."

It was pretty cold in the basement, especially since she couldn't move around properly. That made her angrier, which was good. She'd been angry last time she managed to break through this stuff. Well, rage was easy to conjure up considering she was being detained against her will, had been shoved around like a living backpack and atop all that stuff, he'd called her "little girl". She hadn't forgotten his change of tone after she'd knocked the wind out of him, but he'd been enough of an ass to drive her over the edge. With a growl she broke free. Had it been easier this time?

Before she started working on the door she looked at the monitor. Nobody was even close to where she was, if that little corner with a single dot was anything to go by. Oh well, she'd need to keep an eye on it.

At first, the door seemed impossible to get through. Then, after a while, when she momentarily gave up and started playing with the control panel below the screen with dots on, it suddenly just opened up for no apparent reason.

"Strange," she muttered. No point in looking a gift horse in the mouth, however.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Apparently they had brought that big oaf, Zaraki, and the man had started tearing down buildings. As if that would help them any. They'd just cloak his own hiding place even better like that.

He'd been forced to sneak about more than he'd expected because of the massive amount of Shinigami having invaded Heuco Mundo, taking him away from the secret room longer than he cared for. So it wasn't _too_ surprising when he came back and the door stood open.

"Well, if we ain't a lil' troublemaker." A quick glance at the screen gave him a good idea of where she'd gone; there was only one little dot on its own, but it was heading in a very unfortunate direction for them both.

Her stubborn running was a bit too straightforward for his tastes, but that little Kurosaki just wouldn't give up, would she? Ichimaru grinned.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Karin had been sneaking through a corridor when it started falling down on top of her. At first came a gigantic slash a little bit above her head, making her jump in fright. Who the _hell_ was stupid enough to go around doing something like that? Then the corridor did what most buildings do when they've been cut in half; it started coming apart.

Oh _crap_… She covered her head with her arms just in time to block a sizeable stone and started running toward a relatively unharmed bit of corridor. Not that it hurt any less when the rubble fell on her arms, but at least… before she even had time to finish that thought, something rushed in, picking her up like a doll.

"You're leakin' reiatsu like ya've got a hole in the head, girl. Ain't so strange that ye're related to that guy, neither of you seem too hot on th' patience. One would'a thought he'd make sure his lil' sis wasn't in the building 'fore he started pullin' it down."

"You're saying _Ichi-nii_ is doing this?!" She was just gaping at the whole idea. He was impulsive, sure, and they were apparently in some sort of dusky no-man's-land with no civilians to get hurt, but…

"Ah, he ain't alone, but he's doin' 'is part for the destruction o' Las Noches. Good riddance."

"Las Noches. You couldn't possibly come up with a cheesier name?" There was a twitch in his smile, but it was impossible to tell what it was supposed to mean. "You're not taking us back to that hole in the ground."

"Ain't so easy to get ta, when yer brother's been pullin' down the whole building on top of it. An' I can't use Garganta this far inta Heuco Mundo."

The whole world swept past so quickly she could barely see it, the sudden increase in noise behind her just a blurry question of volume, but it was like it was built into her bones to know what he was doing. This new sensation distracted her for a moment, before she managed to take in what he had said.

"Garganta? Heu-what?" She could almost _feel_ how he gathered energy for each flashstep.

"_Heuco Mundo_, land a' the Hollows." Now _that_ took her by surprise.

"No wonder they think you're nasty if you're hanging out with _that_ kind of crowd." He was an ass, alright, but he was kinda growing on her.

"Well, a bit late ta be thinkin' 'bout that now."

"They're really gonna kill you if they catch you, aren't they?" The thought had just struck her. It was somehow all so unbelievable.

"I'll be doin' mah best to avoid that, lil' Karin." He wasn't easy to read, by any means, with that stupid grin plastered onto his face, but she could tell it wasn't a joke. Nor would it have been very funny, if it had been.

In the few seconds she spent silent, hanging in his bony, white-clad arms, they jumped really insane distances, but she could see them pass by now. She could feel the flow of energy through the air.

"You're… alone?" His red eyes opened just ever so slightly when he looked at her, now _that_ was _really_ creepy.

"Ah s'pose." It was a dodgy answer, he obviously wasn't interested in going down that avenue. It momentarily reminded her of Ichi-nii; he wouldn't have liked sounding weak either. Not many other likenesses, though.

"What were you planning on doing, run from them for the rest of your life?"

"I'd say it's better ta live on the run than bein' dead, ain't it?" Ichimaru looked less and less comfortable, but she suspected that the growing sense of impending doom from behind had something to do with that. Then…

"_Drop her_, Ichimaru."

"Welcome ta Heuco Mundo, Shiro-kun." Ugh, here she had just started getting something interesting out of the slippery eel and Toushiro had to choose that particular moment to show up.

"You can't escape forever. Not for what you did to Hinamori and Matsumoto."

"Ran-chan's stronger than meets the eye," Gin said and Karin thought she detected something in his voice that didn't quite match up with the coldness of the words. Though, on the other hand, he hadn't said anything about this Hinamori person.

It was silent for a moment while they ran… jumped, whatever they were doing to move like this. Suddenly, Ichimaru stopped and for a moment Toushiro was out of sight.

Karin found herself flying through the air. The man had _thrown_ her! Then again, that was unfortunately kind of logical. He would have been defenceless otherwise. She felt herself wrapped in strong arms in mid-air, but as soon as she had ground under her feet again, Toushiro jumped up stop Ichimaru from going through the strange black gate that appeared.

The battle that ensued was silent; both had long ago said all they had to say to each other. To the naked eye, it wasn't so impressive at first, but Karin could feel the intense weight on her shoulders as both men released more of their tightly controlled reiatsu. Something familiar was nagging at the edge of her senses, too.

Like a blanket wrapping around her, suddenly she was in the safe shadow of that familiar presence and Ichigo's hand was on her shoulder as he kneeled down by her side.

"Karin, are you all right?" She nodded, but she couldn't stop watching the battle even to look up at him. "Toushiro will be fine," he insisted, once he saw what she was looking at.

"Yeah, but what'll happen to him… Ichimaru?" Silence told her everything she needed to know. "They'll kill him. Even if he survives now. Ichi-nii, I wasn't afraid… he didn't _actually_ hurt me." Except that part with the attempted escape and almost being choked, but somehow that didn't seem like the right thing to say.

The sound of zanpaktou clanging against each other was deafening. She could barely see them as they sped through the air. Most of the time, their feet barely touched the ground.

"Don't feel bad, Ichi-nii." He couldn't help it, after all. "I think he's ready. He just seems to hang on because he doesn't know any other way."

The little crowd that had gathered to watch the fight; Ichigo, Byakuya and Renji, all looked at her with different expressions on their faces. The chilly taichou didn't show much at all, but his fukutaichou looked completely stunned by the twelve-year-old's instinctive idea.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura."

"You're gonna attack him two-on-one?!" This time, it was Ichigo who was stunned. The taichou simply stared at him for a moment.

"Have you felt the air?" he asked calmly. "There is no water in Heuco Mundo." With that, he joined the fight.

"What does _that_ have to do with anything?"

"Do you remember what Rukia told you about Hyorinmaru, Hitsugaya-taichou's zanpaktou?"

"It's the strongest ice- and water-zanpaktou in all of… Ah."

"Then what's Toushiro doing here?" It didn't make very much sense to Karin at all. If what pineapple-head said was true then, logically, Toushiro could at most hold back Ichimaru waiting for someone else to show up. As soon as Byakuya took action, the younger one backed out, too, even if he was still brimming with unreleased power.

"It's probably because of Rangiku-san." How did that add up? "He acts like she's the worst, but she's his fukutaichou after all and Ichimaru was her best friend."

"Some best friend." Ichigo was right, in a way, but… as she watched the dark-haired taichou pressuring the guy she'd spent the last several hours with, Karin wasn't exactly sure whose side she was on, anymore.

The flash of rosy petals in the sky and the flash of silver strands and metal as the fleet-footed ex-taichou tried to get close enough to hurt his senpai, it all happened so very quickly, but Karin found herself straining to see clearer.

If she hadn't ignored her ability to see, maybe she could have changed the situation, but that was too late to worry about now. Ichi-nii could see ghosts and protect people. Herself? Karin knew she saw as well as Ichi, but she'd never cared for that kind of thing. This was different. She'd been thinking that since Toushiro saved the soccer team. Toushiro. He looked pretty annoyed.

The fight wasn't really all that exciting to the three Shinigami, but Karin watched it eagerly. Immense amounts of reiatsu flooded the place in fiercely controlled outbursts, even under the shielding protection of her brother's proximity she felt the weight on her shoulders keenly.

Ichigo fancied himself protector of the family and lived through that. Yuzu was the loving one, caretaker of everyone. Even the old goat kept them going with his stupid jokes and annoying ideas. Her own place had always been to be the steady unbeliever, but that just wasn't enough anymore.

"He's gonna lose, isn't he?" There was no point in specifying who. Ichimaru Gin was an exceptional Shinigami, but Byakuya Kuchiki was… well, himself.

"Yeah." Ichigo didn't even blink, but the trademark frown was plastered on his face.

"Then… I'm just hypothesizing here, but wouldn't it be kinda meaningful to go get that Rangiku person?" Pineapple-head looked at her as if she was gone completely bonkers, but Toushiro considered it for a moment, before nodding.

"I'll tell her." It sounded like a pretty final verdict. He didn't seem the type who would usually stand back and let others deal with his problems, so it probably gave him a sense of purpose, since he couldn't fight the traitor himself. Within moments, a dark gate opened and Hitsugaya sped off into it.

"Is that a girl thing?" Renji asked as soon as he'd disappeared, making Karin double over in an effort not to laugh him in the face.

"Don't let Toushiro hear you say that," she gasped between fits of sudden laughter.

"Ah, I meant the whole being friends with the traitor and…" he started slurring excuses, but she had already stopped listening. Ichimaru was bleeding from so many places already. He wouldn't last much longer.

"From what I know of Toushiro's fukutaichou she's a nice person," Karin explained slowly, interrupting Renji mid-sentence. "And even if he's gone traitor as you say, they still seem to care a lot about each other. It just makes sense she'd want to be the last face he sees." Just as the words left her mouth, a particularly menacing swipe from Kuchiki's Senbonzakura almost split the wounded Ichimaru in two, felling him to the ground.

A heavy silence settled as Byakuya re-sheathed his zanpaktou and turned, coldly walking away to round up the scattered Shinigami, leaving his former colleague dying on the white desert sand.

"So, there ain't more to it? I'm a lil' disappointed." Gin's grin was weak, but somehow it still managed to upset Renji.

"Aizen was mad and Tousen had his warped justice excuse, but you're just evil." There was always more to it. _Aizen-sama was mah taichou_. Karin pushed past him and kneeled by Ichimaru's side, frowning a little at the blood pulsing out of the wound.

"Rangiku-san's on the way. Hold on a little longer for her, okay?"

"It seems it ain't my lucky day, lil' Karin. Yer brother's makin' that awful frightenin' face again." His laughter was a cough and she just shrugged.

"He's a big puppy on the inside, now shut up until she gets here."

Renji followed his taichou out, but Ichigo and Karin kept silent vigil; her sitting grumpily in her brother's shadow by the dying man. Just as she worried time was starting to run out, a voice called from behind.

"Gin!" Karin rose to see the strawberry blonde woman rushing forward, distressed but surprisingly collected. Oh well, she'd probably known this would happen.

"Bye Ichimaru-san." She thought she saw a hint of crimson between his unnatural eyelids as she left the two alone, their last moments with only each other.

"Bye-bye lil' girl."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

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I'm an evil bitch, I know. Isn't it fun?

I've chosen to allow Ichimaru's use of "yare, yare" because everything else except "tut, tut" would disturb the story and the former is more Ichimaru-ish.

How can I actually _like_ Ichimaru when he's such a nasty shit? Maybe I've just got my head screwed on the wrong way, like that. So does my Karin, apparently.


End file.
